Never Take Friendship Personal
by candozat
Summary: A group of young trainers' adventures in a world that will slowly appear to be more dangerous than they would ever have expected.


**Kent Warner| 7:00pm-Wednesday | Chery Groove City.**

Kent hunched over the Puffin maker, dumping in an assortment of berries. Fang, his Gible, tugged at his leg, demanding a Poffin right then. Kent sowed him away, stirring the mix carefully, watching for it to toast over. "And...perfection." Kent poured the mix out, ready to chop it up for Fang to eat up, hoping he would be able to sneak some away for Snout. Before he could though, it just...was gone. He looked down, at an eager Fang, almost crying for the food.

"Cor-Corpfish-fish-fish!" Kent turned quickly, to see a Corpfish, surprising,stuffing his face, with the Poffin's he had just made.

"Hey! Whose Corpfish is this!" Kent screamed, holding the animal up. It squirmed in discomfort, trying to snap at Kent. "I said, WHOSE CORPFISH IS THIS?"

"Um, Its mine," someone finally answered, looking down. He was an average guy, except for the waterfall he called hair. It was pure blue...like blue, blue. "Gumbo, say sorry." The Corpfish, Gumbo, looked away. "Gumbo!"

"Cor...corp-fish..." the Pokemon said...looking away. Kent let go of it, and went into his bag. "Great, those were my last Poffin Berries. Nurse Joy, do you have any berries, I got the cash for it."

"Sorry, we're all out. There's a contest tomorrow,so," she disappeared into the backroom.

"Dammit," Kent said, under his breath. "Sorry Fang, looks like you go with out a Poffin tonight." The Gible frowned , and glared at the Corpfish, who was looking away.

"Sorry about Gumbo, he tends too...be a selfish, no pun intended," the trainer said.

"No problem," Kent answered, trying his hardest not to explode. "Fang over here was getting a bit chubby anyway. But you really should learn to control your Pokemon, they reflect the trainer. And right now you look really stupid."

"Is there anything I can do? To make it up to you?" he asked, through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, what's your name?" "Tyler." "Yeah, Tyler, I got an idea. How about a battle? My Gible versus your Corpfish. If you aren't chicken."

"You're on!" Tyler almost yelled. Gumbo raised his pincer in acceptance, as well.

"Alright! Get ready to lose, blue Boy," Kent mocked. "Gible, you ready? Eh, don't bother, I know you are!" Fang hopped into the air, munching the air in excitement.

"Hey, you, want to ref?" A boy sitting at a table looked up and nodded, returning his Miltank before following them outside.

"Wait, you got anymore Pokemon?" Kent asked before they started.

"Yeah, a Gastly, why?" Tyler asked.

"I say we make this a double battle then," Kent demanded. Tyler nodded. "Snout, Come on out!" "Casper, I choose you!"

"This will be a one round, double battle. No substitutions allowed. First one to lose both Pokemon loses. Let the battle begin!"

"Gible, Crunch! Swinub, Ice Shard!"

The miniature Pokemon sprinted towards their enemies, ready to attack. Gastly darted into the air, barely avoiding the barrage. "Gumbo, Vicegrip!" the lobster lunged at Fang, grabbing his fin, and chucking him into the air. "Gible, use Dragon-rage to hit Gastly!" An fiery spray erupted from Fang's mouth, hitting Gastly head on. "Toxic, Casper! Water Pulse Gumbo!" A ball of sludge fell straight to the ground, swept up by a wave of water. The two attacks fused together, forming a poison wave. "Snout, Endure! Gible, use Dragon Rage to make a break!" Swinub formed into a ball, making a small force field around itself, ready for anything. Fang didn't listen though, and dug under the wave, hoping to avoid it. "Fang, you idiot!" The wave crashed down on Snout, and flowed right into the hole Fang had made. "Dammit Fa-" Before Kent finished, Fang popped up behind Corpfish, and slashed at him.

Corpfish tried to dodge, but Fang grabbed at him, throwing him into the toxic well. "Corpfish is unable to battle!" the ref announced. Tyler sighed, returning Gumbo to his ball.

**Tyler Cohen | 7:20 PM | Wednesday | Cherrygrove City**

I sighed and held out Corpfish's Pokeball, engulfing him in red light before turning my eyes back on Ghastly and the others. Kent grinned, pointing at Casper. "Fang, Crunch that Ghastly! Snout, Mud Shot!" The Swinub rolled around in the mud, spinning rapidly to fire up a stream of mud from the dirt-based field. His Gible jumped onto the stream of mud and bared his fangs just as Ghastly phased out of the way.

"Casper, use Hypnosis on Swinub!" Ghastly turned to the Swinub, his eyes glowing a faint red. The swinub teetered to one side and then the next before smoothly falling to the ground, asleep. I watched as Gible started running on his short legs back towards Ghastly, who speedily phased towards Swinub, ready for my next instinctive command. "Dream Eate-..."

"Gible, dragon breath!"

Ghastly opened his huge fanged mouth and gulped down an image of Swinub, opening his wide eyes as the Dragonbreath attack sent both Ghastly and Swinub reeling.

Ghastly phased in and out, in and out, trying to extinguish the green flames that were mixed with his own aura, and Swinub stopped snoring.

"Swinub is unable to battle!"

I had to be careful; not cocky. One more dragonbreath like that last one, and Ghastly was out of the picture. Kent withdrew Swinub and grinned up at the battlefield, watching Gible and

The little dragon and my ghost-ball were staring each other down, ready to make the next strike. "Casper, let's pull a Houdini..."

Ghastly opened his fangy mouth and enveloped himself, growing twice, thrice, four times his normal size. "Night Shade!"

"Dragon Rage!"

Ghastly's gargantuan mouth let out a miry black haze and Gible blasted out another round of green fire.

The two breaths collided and met in the middle. But Casper got cute and started spooking Gible with his ominous, amplified ghost-voice. "Ghaaaaaaaastlyyyyyyyyy!"

Gible hobbled and hiccuped in his dragonbreath, falling once overcome by the Night Shade. His eyes spun and he covered his tiny dragon eyes with his arms, but shook off the terror.

Kent grinned at me and nodded. And instinctively, I nodded back.

"Fang, Dig!"

And obediently, the tiny dragon dug a deep hole, vanishing from the field.

"Ghastly, use Toxic in Gible's hole!"

Ghastly phased over the small entrance, dropping a purple, sizzling loogie into the hole. The potent acid slid down and Ghastly's huge eyes widened as a green fire came shooting out of the hole back at him. He let out a gasp that sounded like a vampire in the sunlight and phased away from the hole, and away from the dragonbreath. Opening his mouth, he revealed a hole burned in the back of his globular body.

At first he seemed fine, but then the damage really got to him. Like a deflated balloon, he fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Ghastly is unable to battle!"

"W-Wait!"

Kent and the other trainer looked up, both raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Check inside the hole..."

The three of us leaned over the deep hole and Kent called out for his little dragon.

No reply.

"Awh, shit."

"Then... Gible is unable to battle."

"So..."

"It's a tie."

I grinned. Kent started swearing under his breath, but calmed down after a moment or two.

Calming himself down, he reached out a hand. "Great battle."

I slowly nodded, shaking his hand. He couldn't take his eyes off my hair. "Is it really that weird?"

"It's one of the five weirdest things I've seen in my life."

"Funny, I was going to say the same about your battling."

**Max Daniels | 7:23 PM | Wednesday | Cherrygrove City**

I walked at leisurely as my misdreavus hovered by my side. She refused to go into the pokeyball unlike my Milktank that saw it as comfort. I could be riding my bike or running but walking was much more useful. It gave me time to take in my surrounding. There was no point in breezing through life without taking in the sites from time to time. Out of the corner of my I saw LadyDeath give a devilish smile. I frowned and saw what she was looking at.

She was looking at two trainers shaking hands, presumably after fighting a battle. "Don't you even think about it Lady," I said.

She didn't listen and she vanished. I sighed as I could guess what she was about to do.

The next thing I know the blue haired trainers hair is yanked upwards and he let out a cry of pain. Then the other trainer hat was taken off his head and tossed to the side. The two trainers started to swat at nothing as LadyDeath played with them.

"Leave them alone Lady they have done nothing to you," I said when I reached the spot where the trainers stood.

LadyDeath appeared and made a giggling sound before floating back to my side. I frowned at her.

"She's probably hungry, she likes to eat fear," I said. A fact that got very annoying. Whenever she got hungry she would disappear and go scare someone. I often wished she could as easily placate as MilkDud was. I could plop her down on a patch of grass and she'd be happy.

One of the trainers picked his hat off the ground and dusted it off. "Why can't trainers these days control their Pokémon," he said curtly.

I gave a slight shrug. "What can I say, she's a free spirit. Get it free spirit."

Neither of them smiled.

"Never mind," I said. "I should go anyway."

"Wait that's a Misdreavus right," the blue haired one asked. I noted that while the hated one seemed angry from the encounter this one seemed more freaked out. I looked over at LadyDeath and her red beads did seem to be glowing more which meant she had sucked in some fear.

"Yes, she's harmless really. Excuse me for being rude. My name is Max Daniels." I reached out to shake both of their hands.

"Tyler Cohen," the blue haired one said.

"Kent Warner," the angry one said.

I decided that mentally those would be my nicknames for them. The blue haired one and the angry one,"

I liked putting titles to things.

"Well nice to meet you both," I said.

**Tyler Cohen | Cherrygrove PkmnCntr | Wednesday | 7:30 PM**

He reached out his hand and Kent absently shook it. I waited, still staring at the Misdreavous. _It's okay; it's a Pokemon. It won't hurt you. It's a Pokemon._

Misdreavous' eyes turned a crimson red and giggled as her beads illuminated once more.

I looked back down at Max and feigned a smile, shaking his hand just as absently as Kent had. But wait...

"You're traveling at night?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Max nodded and pointed a thumb over his shoulder to the north.

"I want to get to Violet City before sunrise. It'll be my first gym challenge!" He beamed happily and Misdreavous, who I presumed was Lady Death, floated around his head, reflecting his emotion.

"Ah... I already have Falkner's badge."

Kent and Max both looked at me in disbelief.

"What? Do I really seem that weak?"

"Well," Kent began, but I cut him off by showing him the badge, nestled into the black case on my belt. He examined it and frowned. "Well, Falkner is a pushover anyway."

I shrugged. _No use arguing with the truth._

I looked up at the moon and frowned, listening to the tiny chime that came with Misdreavous' glowing beads. "Let's... Let's head inside and rest. We could all go to Violet City in the morning, right? When it's not so..."

"Scary?" Kurt smirked, putting his backpack back on over his shoulders. "I don't see any reason we couldn't go now."

I looked over to Max, who just grinned in reply to Kent. Then it was decided.

_It won't be that bad... You're with others, after all._

"Alright, then. Just let Casper and Gumbo rest a bit."

Kent nodded again, a bit sorry that he had to agree with me. "Yeah, Fang and Snout need a rest, too."

_So we all spent an hour_  
_in the Pokemon center,_  
_swapping stories and just_  
_talking while Nurse Joy_  
_tended to our Pokemon._

_I had some Poffin berries_  
_in my pack, so Kent wasn't mad_  
_over the ones Gumbo had eaten._  
_We talked about our battle the most._

"The way I see it, the less your opponent can figure out about what you're going to do, the better," I said, taking the final bite of an apple.

"I dunno... It just seems a bit dishonest." Kent was knelt over his mixer again, making another Poffin for his Pokemon. "I mean, yelling out your attacks in broad hearing distance of your opponent makes for a nice fight, right?"

I laughed at his phrasing and Max ended up laughing, too. Kent looked up, a bit agitated, and stared at my hair again. "So... I'm dying to know."

Max finished his sentence. "What's with your hair?"

I grinned, taking off my headband to let the waterfall of hair fall down below my ears. "I was born with it."

They both lifted eyebrows in response. "I dunno... The doctors never said anything about it, but I like it, really." Across from our table was a mirror. I stared into it and fixed my hair back into it's backwards swoop with my headband as the anchor.

"But it always reminds people of the ocean, so they automatically think I'm a solely-water trainer." I took a sip of my water and grinned. "Not that I've made a full decision yet." Nurse joy came to our table with a tray of six Pokeballs. For some reason, it was easy to tell which were mine- the middle two.

I tossed the golf ball-sized orbs in my hand a couple of times before placing them back on my belt. "Corpfish was my first Pokemon, but I instantly fell in love with the Ghastly that Morty gave me for my fourteenth birthday."

They both stared at me, wide-eyed and surprised. Kent was the first to speak. "Did you say Morty? As in the gym leader?"

I nodded, standing to take my trash away. "He's my cousin..."

Max chuckled and tapped on one of his Pokeballs, releasing Misdreavous into the air behind me. I turned around from the trashcan and nearly died of fear. Misdreavous flew around, giving off small laughing noises before nestling in a steady hover around Max's head.

"Morty's cousin... Afraid of ghosts..." Max burst into laughter and I looked away, smiling.

"Yeah, funny..."

The two stood and tossed their trash before walking towards the door. I finished gathering my supplies and an extra water from the counter for Corpfish later.

_...and we were off!_

**Kent Warner| Cherrygrove City| Wednesday 8:10pm (ends at about 6 am)**

"So, why are you in Cherrygove, Tyler? I mean, the next gym is the opposite way," kent asked.

"Well, I wanted to explore a bit. Violet City is right next to Ecruteak, so it felt...sort of un-journey like," Tyler responded.

"Ah...well then," Kent trailed off, he had been hoping to laugh at something. "Max, we both need to challenge this dude, so who is gonna go first?"

"Well, I wa-" Max started.

"I say whoever gets there first does. I'll be waiting out there all night, I want the badge," Kent announced, cockily. "Plus, you might need his Pokemon weakened, I mean, no offence, but, Ladydeath, seems pretty weak. You're other Pokemon better be strong."

"Yeah, sure..." Max dragged on. We walked in silence for a little longer, it was starting to get pretty dark. "Where is a fire type when you need it, right?"

"Lady," Max said simply, the Misdreavous's beads began to glow, until she turned into a full flash light.

"Nifty trick," Kent said, begrudgingly. "This place sure is quiet, you would think there would be a HootHoot or a Rata-whatever around."

"Probably our Pokemon," Tyler answered. "Misdreavous tend to scar away weak Pokemon."

"As well as Tyler's," Kent mocked. Max chuckled. "Fang, Snout, come on out! You two need to exercise." Fang frowned, tugging at Kent's leg. "If you walk with us, you get a Poffin at the Pokemon Center," Kent bribed.

Another Hour passed, in mostly silence. It was a long trip to Violet City, and there was no indication of it being any closer. "So, where are you from, Max?" Tyler asked, trying to break the eerie silence.

"I grew up on the Moo-Moo Milk farm," Max answered.

"Moo-Moo Milk?" Kent asked. "never heard of it."

'Do you live under a rock?" Tyler asked. "Everyone knows about Moo-Moo Milk."

"Not under a rock, more like an enclosed field. My dad raises and trains Dragon type Pokemon, we live in the mountains near Blackthorn," Kent answered. "Not easy to get out much, and not too much variety in food either.

'Ah, so that explains the Gible. I've never heard of them being in Jhoto," Max said.

"Mhmm, I hatched Fang myself, I got to pick one Egg out, and which ever Pokemon I got, I could keep. I was actually hoping for a Magikarp," I said.

"Why would you want a Magikarp? They're the weakest Pokemon," Tyler said, giveing me a weird look.

"Well, my dad raises them, and he taught me a trick to evolving them, early. So, I would have a Gyrados right now. Which, ya know, kicks ass," Kent announced,with a huge grin. "As soon as I find one, I'm gonna catch it."

"I'd rather have a Gible. Personally," Tyler said. "Not many gyms can even allow a Gyrados to fight, need a huge tank."

"Whatever, I like them," Kent said. "Plus, Gible have this nasty Habit, they tend to jump and bite onto your head. The only way to get this one not to do it, is Poffins. Oh, and they eat anything they see, he ate his first five Pokeballs. I finally taught him they're NOT berries." Kent kept Rambling about Dragon type, and dragon like, Pokemon for some time. From Charzard, to Flygon, to the legendaries.

He was the only one speaking for at least half an hour, and somehow made it without drinking a sip. While the other two breathed silent prayers to get to Violet city, quickly. The sun slowly crept up on them, as if teasing them to hurry up. Violet city was no visible, but it was still a few miles away.

"I know this is a bad time to say it, but I think we should take a rest. I mean the Gym doesn't even Open till eleven. And we might find some trainers in a bit. The early risers, with the tough Pokemon," Kent proposed, he was gasping for air, and his legs were feeling numb. Max and Tyler nodded, and the three of them all collapsed on the grass.

**Samuelle Park - Thursday 7:01 AM, Route 31**

A loud and deafening crack startled Sam awake, almost causing her to fall off the tree branch she was sleeping on. She sat up straight, clinging to the tree branch with both arms.

"HOLY! What the hell was that?" cried a voice from below her tree.

It was then that Sam realized what happened. She quickly counted her pokemon. Her black Charmander Blaze was clinging to the tree as if it was dear life, and...Kite was missing. Crap. Not again.

"Baaaaaaaaaagon." And the little nutter sounded happy about jumping off the tree headfirst too.

Sam maneuvered herself off the tree branch, helping Blaze down while she was at it. Three trainers were huddled together in a frightened circle, angrily scolding each other and looking around with frightened looks on their faces.

"Why does your Misdreavus like making fun of me?" said a blue-haired kid. He looked vaguely familiar, but Sam couldn't be sure she knew him.

"Lady didn't do anything! Maybe it was your Ghastly."

"Shut up, guys! I think I heard the tree rustling."

"I-It's probably just a wild pokemon."

Without a sound Sam picked up Kite, holding her Bagon at arm's length. But Kite was extremely heavy, so she put him down after a while and knelt in front of him, frowning.

"Why do you like jumping off trees early in the morning?"

Kite seemed to grin. Behind him was a smashed boulder. Show-off. Sam sighed and adjusted her backpack, but then she heard whimpering and remembered the three guys behind the bushes.

Blaze was already poking around the bushes, his tail precariously close to one of the shrubs. Sam supposed she shouldn't just leave them cowering in fear for the next God-knew-how-many hours.

"Um...guys? D-do you see that ghostly light there, in the dark part behind the bushes?"

Sam almost burst out laughing. She gestured for her pokemon to follow her and signaled for them to wait for her signal.

She held up one finger, then two, then three.

The trainer and her two pokemon jumped out of the bush, screaming. The boys shrieked like little girls and huddled even closer until one of them, the blue-haired kid again, blinked and recovered.

"Oh. Hey."

Sam laughed so hard she was afraid she would pee herself. Dear God. The looks on their faces were priceless. She almost wished she'd snapped a picture of it. Kite and Blaze seemed just as gleeful as their owner.

"You guys...thought we were ghosts, didn't you?" Sam could barely breathe, but her laughter was slowly dying out and she could talk.

"No, we didn't," snapped another one of the three.

"Yes, you did. Kite woke you up when he jumped off the tree and cracked that boulder." Sam chuckled one last time. These guys were definitely amusing.

**Kisa - Thursday 7:30 AM, Route 31**

I tilted the leaf of a bush and studied the trainers. They were all very odd, much different than people I used to know. They were all very clean and proper. They stood up straight from years of relaxation instead of hunching, like my mother, from years of work and hiking. I could see numerous pokeballs strapped around their belts. It made me happy to think that mine were wiser than any of theirs. Their Pokemon were probably new and still growing. So were mine, of course, but mine had seen things that those would never.

I stood up and hid behind a tree, looking on at a different angle. They were short and young looking. But since I had never seen myself, I probably looked like that, too. I looked down at my torn shorts and shoes and sighed. I would look petty to them; useless.

I ran away and ducked behind a mountain of ferns so that they had no way of seeing me. I released my babies.

"Pixi, Poni, come out. It's safe."

Pixi came out first, releasing her beautiful red locks, and Poni followed, large and on fire. They were both fire, of course, but Poni reeked of it. From her mane to her tail was red flames, light leaking from them. I didn't need a flashlight, I already had fire. They would scare of any predator from just a mere glance. "Here," I said handing them some berries. I loved how their tales shook when I tossed them food. Now where to find some of my own?

My babies were back on my belt as I spied once more at the group. In the tree above me I could see some sort of monkey Pokemon - I didn't know the names, it wasn't my job, at least before, to know. I took a berry from my pocket and whistled at the monkey. The group stirred, but went back to cooking their breakfast.

The monkey stared at me, then at the berry that I had tossed towards the group. He jumped off the tree and, the group screamed. I took my chance and grabbed a handful of food, and ran away as fast as I could.

**Max Daniels| - Thursday 7:01 AM| Route 31**

I wasn't usually one to be scared but what could I say Tyler fear seemed to be rubbing off on me. And Lady licked up our fear like a dehydrated dog.

"You guys...thought we were ghosts, didn't you?" The girl said.

"No, we didn't," snapped Kent.

"Yes, you did. Kite woke you up when he jumped off the tree and cracked that boulder." The girl said and started to laugh.

I could tell Kent didn't like being laughed at but I didn't mind and simply sat back down against a tree. I released my Milktank so she could graze. Lady swooped down and the two Pokémon began to play. Lady would swoop around MilkDuds head and MilkDud would swat at her with her stubby arms.

"I'm Sam. Who are you guys," she asked.

"Max," I said from my spot.

"Kent," the angry one said.

"Tyler," the blue haired one said.

"Where are you headed," she asked.

"Violet City," Kent said.

"What a coincidence I'm headed there too. Mind if I tag along."

"If you prove yourself in a fight," Kent said.

"Ok," she said.

Kent looked like he was about to call out one of his Pokémon but Tyler interrupted.  
"We already had our fun, why don't we let Max do it," Tyler said.

I had my eyes closed during this conversation and opened my eyes warily.I looked up at the three trainers then at my playing Pokémon. "Are you guys up to it?" LadyDeath made a laughing noise and swooped to my side.

MilkDud looked annoyed and simply bit into a patch of grass.

I got on my feet and Kent and Tyler backed up so there was a patch of land between me and Sam.

"Lady let's put all that fear you ate to good use," I said.

She smiled and hovered in front of me.

"Then I'll use Kite," she said.

Her Bagon stepped forward

"So Pokémon battle," I said.

She nodded.

"Begin," Kent yelled.

"Dragon Pulse," she screamed.

Her Bagon created a sphere of energy and fired it directly at Lady.

"Lady use Psybeam to deflect the attack," I said. Lady listen and blasted the energy ball with a beam of psychic energy. "Now use confuse Ray," Lady used Confuse ray but Sam told her Bagon to dodge and it did so expertly.

"Lady become evasive by using Double Team," Multiple copies of Lady came out of the original and they swooped towards Bagon. "Now use Hypnosis."

**Samuelle Park - Thursday 7:09 AM, Route 31**

Hypnosis? Crap. Kite's eyes started to droop, but then he shook it off. Sam sighed in relief. Thank God Kite slept well last night.

"Kite, use crunch!" Kite snapped at one of the numerous Misdreavus in the air, but it wasn't the right one. However, Kite didn't give up and just went on biting each and everyone until there was one last left.

Still, Max was too quick for them. "Confuse ray!"

This time Kite failed to avoid the ball of light heading his way.

At first the Bagon merely blinked and looked around, stumbling back and forth with a drunken look on his face.

"Lady, use psybeam!"

Kite got hit and slammed to the floor before getting up weakly and starting to run around again. Finally, he slammed headfirst into a tree. It wouldn't be a problem, if Bagons didn't have such hard heads. A deafening crack echoed through the quiet field.

At first the tree groaned, then teetered, and finally started to fall down. Sam's eyes bugged out. "KITE, RUN!" She had half a mind to go and sweep her Bagon out of harm's way herself, but she knew she'd never make it in time.

Kite saw the tree coming down and snapped back to attention, running away from it just in time to avoid getting squashed. Kite glanced at his trainer again, appearing to give a silent cheer for his trainer. Sam clenched her fist.

"Let's do this again, Kite. Crunch!"

Kite lunged at Misdreavus, missed a few times as the ghost flew up and down, left and right. Finally Kite grazed the Misdreavus. The ghost was taken aback. Kite barely gave her enough time to move between his attempts to bite her.

"Lady, use double team!"

Multiple copies of the ghost appeared again, but it was too late. Kite already locked onto the original ghost. He bit down on the ghost, which fell to the ground.

"End it with dragon rage!"

A ball of energy headed towards the weakened Misdreavus, and when it was all over Max ran to his pokemon. Misdreavus seemed stunned and not-so-healthy, scratched and bruised in quite a few places. Bagon's bite marks were still clear.

Tyler and Kent were quiet for a moment. Kite ran back to his trainer and jumped up to ask her to hug him, but instead tackled her to the ground. Kite was incredibly heavy for his tiny size, but Sam didn't mind. She laughed and hugged Kite to her chest.

"Well. That was an awesome fight," Tyler said.

Sam got up, brushing the grass of her clothes. "So, can I come with you guys now?"

A loud grumble interrupted their conversation. Kent blushed and turned away. "Sorry. Kinda hungry," he mumbled.

Sam laughed again. These guys were incredibly amusing. She could get used to them. "Let's have breakfast, then. Blaze, come over here and help me start a fire!"

Moments later, the group was eating.

"So, you're brother's that Rennert Park?"

Sam chewed slowly and swallowed. "Yeah. He gave me Blaze."

"It's pretty sick. Why's it black?"

"It's shiny, duh." Tyler hit the back of Kent's head lightly.

They all fell silent for a few moments, listening to the grass rustle and to the occasional cry of a wild pokemon. In the distance their pokemon played with each other, having already eaten their poffins.

It was quiet, and the sun was warm. Sam remembered when she used to have a picnic with Mom on days like these -

Thunk.

Something hit the pot. The next thing Sam knew, they were panicking and a Chimchar was in the middle of their group causing a scene.

"GUMBO, USE WATER PULSE!" Tyler yelled. His Corphish immediately came running, with the other pokemon trailing behind it.

It was about to douse the little chimp when two Infernapes dropped down behind it.

The boys froze, looking at the Infernape. Sam, on the other hand, had her eye on the thief who stole the food.

"Blaze, Kite, get her!"

What a wonderful morning.

**Kent| Thursday 7:34| Route 31**

"Snout, use mist!" Kent commanded, grabbing his Pokemon. A thick fog covered the area, making for a perfect diversion. Tyler, Sam, and Max all dove out with Kent. "Fang, use Dragon breath! Snout, Mud shot them!" "Gumbo, water Pulse!" "Lady, Psybeam!"

As the attacks spiraled towards the monkeys, Sam and Max took off to follow the thief. The fog slowly faded away, revealing two, severally ticked, Infernapes, hunched over their fainted son, or something. The two turned toward the now revealed and vulnerable team. Their entire bodies covered in intense flames, ready to dash to us. Flame Wheel." Fang, dig. Snout, follow and use attack plan C guys," Kent yelled, before tackling Tyler into the bushes. "We need to lead them away from the forest; if they have friends...we don't want them to hear. us."

Tyler nodded, "Gumbo can take care of that," he replied. Despite the fight, Gumbo stilled smiled at the half compliment.

"Just wait a second," Kent said, pointing back to their camp, now the battle scene. After a few seconds, there was a sudden rumble below, and the entire camp exploded in green flames. Gible and Swinub blasted from the ground, clinging within Swinub's endure. "Plan C, use dig to make an elaborate vent system, then, once it ready, full out attack barrage, and endure it," Kent smiled at his own brilliance.

"Nice...now then...let's see if it worked," Tyler said, squinting to see through the smoke and sand. Fang and snout landed in a heap next to them, smiling, but exhausted. "Good job guys, here, eat up," Kent whispered, and handed them Oran and Sitrus berries. "And if that didn't work, I am a 80 year old woman who rides Ho-Ho."

"Well, Gladice, might want to get on your bird," Tyler said, ducking down and quickly crawling to the next bush. "Gumbo, use Crab hammer on the tree, make it rain berries, then run outside, okay?" the Corpfish nodded eagerly, and jumped out from the hiding place. The little hyper beast jumped around the holes, jumped on top of the Infernapes, and then banged his heart out on the trees. It rained a rainbow of colors, as Apricorns and Berries fell. Corpfish quickly made his escape, making sure to snap at the primates once more.

Kent and Tyler sprinted out of the hiding place, ready to strike again. "Gumbo, rain dance, then water pulse! Casper, use Toxic then follow it with Night Shade!" Tyler commanded. "Gible, one more Dragon Breath, Snout, be ready to mist when I signal."

The fight was on.

**Sam - Thursday, 7.37 AM, Route 31**

Sam ran after the thief. Adrenaline roared in her ears and her feet actually hurt, but she didn't care. That thief was going down.

The thief made her way through the tall grass, all in a vain attempt to lose Sam and Max. Where was Max anyway? Sam threw a backward glance to see the boy walking towards them instead of running. God, what was wrong with him?

The tall grass scratched at her, and it was making Sam itch. She knew she ought to have worn pants today. Sam only hoped that no wild pokemon would ambush her while she was heading for the thief. That would be a disaster.

And their breakfast today was delicious, too. No wonder the thief stole it. Maybe she ought to cook something less aromatic the next time.

Suddenly a Ponyta and a Vulpix jumped in front of the thief, who turned around to face Sam. Sam narrowed her eyes as the thief smirked.

"Tell you what. I'll give you back your food."

Sam snorted. "Yeah right."

Max ambled up just then, looking as calm as ever. "Did I miss anything?"

Both the thief and Sam ignored Max.

"But. There's a condition."

"Let me guess. We have to win a battle against you." That was rather expected. Couldn't she be more original? Beside Sam, Blaze and Kite tensed, ready to attack at any moment. They bristled at the Ponyta and Vulpix.

"Yeah. But if I win you have to stop following me."

"Why do we have to battle you again? We can get the food back even without a pokemon battle," Max said.

Sam stared at Max with wide eyes. He was right. They could get the food back without a pokemon battle. Sam meant, yeah, this girl was freakishly tall but she wasn't a very fast runner, for what it was worth.

The thief took a step backwards. "W-what?"

"Max is right. Why do we have to battle you?"

She stiffened and tensed. "Because. Because if you win I'll stop bothering you forever."

There was an awkward silence.

"...Does that mean you planned on stalking us?"

"N-no! J-just battle me, okay?" The thief's Ponyta and Vulpix bared their teeth. The flames on Ponyta flared to a gorgeous array of colors.

Sam nodded at Blaze. She was going to fight fire with fire. Literally. Blaze stepped in front of his trainer.

Max groaned. "Do I have to battle again?"

Could he get any lazier? With a sigh he called out his Miltank. "Come on, Milkdud."

Sam only hoped that Max would be as good at using his Miltank as he was with his Misdreavus. If that was the case, then they should win this fight no problem.

**Kisa - Thursday, 7:40, Route 31**

Apparently I seemed week to them. Apparently they thought they could get the food back no problem. But they are underestimating me and my Pokemon. They are underestimating my strength. I had lost everything, and I wasn't about to lose this battle.

I looked at the Pokemon: the cow would be easy. My fire could defeat it in two blows. The ghost I wasn't so sure of. The only ghost Pokemon I had ever encountered, my mother said to run. We never challenged any, so I didn't know what good my fire would be.

The rock-headed Pokemon looked tough, but was probably weak. All it was good for was his head.

Then... the Charmander... A fire Pokemon. That wouldn't be good. I hated fighting fire against fire. Plus, I had a bad encounter with a Charmander once. I tried to capture it, but instead it blasted fire at me and I fell to the ground while running from it. It wasn't a pleasant memory, and made me want to cry. It was a sign that I wasn't as strong as I looked.

But that was when I was without my babies. Now that I had them, I wasn't afraid of anything.

I squatted before Pixie and stroked her red fur. "It'll be alright. We got this!"

"So," I said, turning to the boy and girl. "So, how're we gonna do this? Surely you don't think I'll fight all four of your guys, do you?"

**Tyler Cohen | Wednesday, 7:45AM | Route 31**

And the monkeys. Threw. Fire.

Kent and I scrambled out of the way of the fire just before the embers could land hits. Corpfish jumped in front of both of us and gave out a meditative cry: "Coooorp...Fiiiiish!" Its claws both began to shine a bright blue before he clapped them together, sending a ball of blue light into the sky.

And the morning sun suddenly vanished.

The Infernapes looked around, wondering where their precious sun went, and Corpfish wasted no time in blasting the closest one with a super-powered water pulse. The Infernape shook the water off his doused shoulders, but seemed pretty unfazed. But while Infernape continued looking for the sun, Ghastly crept up behind him, comically dropping a huge purple loogie of TOXIC onto the Infernape's face.

The flaming monkey danced about, grasping at its burning face, but Ghastly was too quick for him. He blew up like a balloon and vomited a black miasma over the Infernape's body.

And that's when the rain started.

The second Infernape began to charge at the two of us right as Kent signaled for Snout's Mist. The ape stopped dead in its tracks, lost in the frosty liquid around it. The flames on its body began to sizzle, and then died out as the rain began falling.

"Quick, Fang! Dragonbreath!"

"Gumbo, water pulse!"

The tiny dragon and the lobster Pokemon stood side-by-side, releasing a green-and-blue blast of water and fire, knocking the Infernape down without a second chance. Kent grabbed my shoulder and nodded towards the others. "Let's go!"

**Max Daniel| Wednesday, 7:40AM | Route 31**

"Then it will be two on two," Sam suggested. "One of mine and one of his against the two of yours."

The thief nodded her head.

I sighed. Two fights in one day. This was seriously eating up my time. "MilkDud I choose you," I said without enthusiasm.

MilkDud looked up from her patch of grass and reluctantly got up and waddled to the center of the field.

"And I choose Blaze," Sam said. Her charamander ran forward next to my miltank.

The girl thief raised her hands and her two Pokémon stepped forward.

MillkDud still seemed apprehensive so I sang its favorite song that I created when milking

"My miltank brings all the tauros to the yard,  
And they're like  
It's better than yours". . .

Both girls gave me dirty looks so I stopped. At any rate it seemed to raise MilkDud's spirits and she looked ready to fight.

The thief called out first. "Pixie take out the cow with ember," she screamed.

"Defense curl," I yelled. MilkDud Curled into a ball just as the flames slammed into her. I knew her tough fat skin coupled with her Defense curl would protect her from the flames.

Sam made her move next. "Blaze use dig and get underneath Vulpix."

Her charmander dug its claws into the dirt and uprooted the ground and disappeared into a hole. "Now use flamethrower," Sam called.

"Pixie dodge." The thief yelled. The Vulpix jumped out of the way just as the ground erupted from the ground a pillar of flame. Sam's charmander leaped out of the hole after the vulpix. Now use focus punch. Her charmander was about to land the blow when the thief ordered her ponyta to use Fire spin. A jet of spiraled fire hit charmander and sent him flying into a tree.

My MilkDud got out of her ball and I ordered her to use Body Slam. She jumped into the air and used her mass to land on her vulpix in mid air slamming it to the ground. "Vulpix is unable to continue battle," I said.  
Sam's charmander about to get back up but the thief girl made her ponyta use quick attack. In a blur the ponyta slammed it's hooves into charmander.

"Charmander is unable to continue battle," the thief said.

I sighed. It looked like it was my Miltank against her ponyta.

MilKDud use milk drink to replenish your strength. She did as I was told and after drinking she jumped up ready for the next part of the battle.

**Kisa / Wednesday 7:40 AM / Route 31**

A tear almost fell as I called Vulpix back into her Pokeball. I hated seeing my Pokemon hurt. But her pain was turned into my anger, and my craving for revenge. And seeing the Charmander lying and quivering was the icing on the cake. No matter whose Pokemon, I hated seeing them hurt. And over a stupid battle like this.

I thought about my strategy, and suspected the boy was thinking about it, too. He stood staring at me, his hands in balls of fists. I stared back, revealing my greatest poker face, not letting him see inside of me at all. But I could see his emotions all across his eyes and twitching mouth. He was afraid. But why? Of losing, or being embarrassed. Well we'll soon find out.

Defense curl. That was a killer move. It had completely dodged my last attack. But what could I do so he couldn't call on the defense before I did? There was only one solution: the cow would have to attack first.

"Poni, growl!" I shouted, breaking the silence.

"MilkDud, body slam!" he said, a smile on his face. He thought he had me.

"Poni, look out!" She quickly slid out of range and the cow's attack was dodged. For a second, it would be lying on the ground, recovering from the hit. I took my chance. "Finish 'em! Ember!"

Poni's hair released a great burst of fire.

"MilkDud, defense-" But it was too late. All around the pokemon were red flames, and it was on the ground.

"MilkDud is unable to fight..." I whispered, and ran over to Poni. I stroked her chest and fed her a third of the food I had stolen from the group. I put another third in my pocket for Pixie, and walked over to the defenseless cow. "Here you go," I said, crouching down and handing it to the pokemon.

"You beat me... how did you-"

I stood and called Poni back into her pokeball. "Strategy. Battling is all about strategy; being one step ahead of your opponent; observing their moves." I sunk my head. "I'm sorry I stole your food. And I'm sorry we had to fight."

Then out of the bushes, two boys ran into our little opening, angry looks on her faces. I frowned, hoping they wouldn't give me any more trouble.

**Kent Warner| Wednesday 7:45| Route 31|**

"So, this is the punk who stole all out food," Kent announced. "Did you guys get the food back?"

"No," Sam said. "We made a bet, winner got to keep the food."

"Ah...so you lost," Kent said. "No surprise there, that Bagon does look a little weak. Probably has brain damage too, and that Charmander might be black, but its flames are really weak. Both need some drastic training. If you ask me." No one asked. Same gave him a death glare, as if ready to send her Bagon at his groan. He didn't give her a chance too.

"I say, we battle for it," Kent said. "Me, and you. My Gible versus you;re...whatever your Pokemon are."

"No," the girl replied. "My Pokemon are hurt, I don;t want them to injure themselves anymore."

"Words spoken by a true Feebas," Kent said. He was worried though, his Pokemon barley had gotten out of the Infernape fight..they weren't ready to battle, anyone. "But, if you must, how about we battle later. We're going to Violet City, to get the badge. If you want to, you can follow, from a far. We can fight after our respective challenged, deal?"

The girl started at them for awhile, not sure if it was a wise choice. After awhile she nodded. "I will fight you then."

"Good," Kent said.

"And me!" Sam screamed. "I want a rematch to-"

"No wa-" Kent tried to argue

"Separately. Two One-on-One battles. Same shot Kent a look worth a million words, all saying something along the lines off "Screw you."

"Fine."

"Now then, let's get Violet City," Tyler said. "We all need a good rest.

**8:20 AM| Violet City**

"Soooo, I call dibs," Kent said as the entered the Pokemon Center.

"On what?" Tyler asked.

"The gym, of course," Kent replied. "Beside, as I told Max, they might need some weaker Pokemon to fight. I'll take the Big Birds, my Pokemon need the challenge."

Everyone, including the mystery girl, handed their Pokeballs to Nurse Joy, who told them they would be ready soon.

"What your dream team?" Tyler asked. "I've been thinking about what I want for my team..I think I want a specialty..."

"I was leaning toward no type" Sam said. "I do know I few I think would be a good. I either want a Mareep or a Shinx. Oh and a Tootadile and Rydon."

"Sort of...a weird mix," ax said with a laugh. Sam shrugged, and took a bite of the breakfast they had bought.

"What about you, Max?" Tyler continued, breaking the awkward loud chewing and yawns.

"No clue," Max answered, with a large yawn.

"Personally," Kent said, without anyone asking him to join the conversation. He was only there because he had money."I was raised around Dragon types, and Dragon like, Pokemon. What I really want is a Flygon, but its impossible to get them here. They need to be imported from Honnen. I have tried to get my dad to give me one..but he said I had to earn it..yet I don;t even live at home to earn it anymore."

"Shut up, Kent," Sam interrupted.

"Whatever. I'm going to go make some Pokemon food, anyone want some?" Kent got some strange looks. "For the Pokemon, geez." They all nodded.

**11:15 AM| Outside Violet City Gym|**

"Snout come on out!" Kent commanded, letting his brown fur ball out. "Ice Shard!"

Kent had already taken out Falker's first two Pokemon, by way of Fang. A few crunches had left its jaw sore, so it was time for Snout to shine, or rather muddy. "Follow it up with Mist, and use a Takedown, quickly." The brown blur shot into the air, slamming in to the Pigeot's wings, knocking it into a windmill state. Followed up with a final Ice shard. Falker was done with.

"Too easy," Kent said with a chuckle, returning Snout to his gold ball sized home. "So, who is up next?" Kent asked, adding his first badge to his belt.

**Sam - Thursday, 11:30 AM, Violet City Gym**

"But Sam, it's almost lunch," whined Max. "Can't you wait until after lunch to challenge the leader? I mean, think about it. His pokemon will feel better then -"

"No!" Sam was not going to leave this gym, especially if it meant that she would have to put up with Kent having a badge while she went empty-handed. What was that going to say about her? That she was the weakest. What if her brother came along? He'd see that she was no good at battling, and that giving her Blaze only served to make her a mush.

As much as she loved her pokemon, she knew she had to be a trainer first. Sam ignored the annoyance of her friends and tried her best not to grumble about being the last to go and fight the gym leader.

It wasn't fair for Kent to have called dibs. Now he always going to be mercilessly teasing her about wining only because he weakened the pokemon first. Her pokemon trailed behind their trainer, watching her with worried eyes. They'd never seen her so agitated before.

When she finally came face to face with Falkner, he seemed calm. Almost as if he expected it. He nodded at the other trainers in the gym, who picked up his pokemon and probably rushed them to the Pokemon center nearby.

"I suppose you want to challenge me too?"

Sam nodded. "But if you don't have Pokemon, how are you going to -?"

Falkner laughed. "People can have as many Pokemon as they want, you know?"

Sam almost froze. That meant Falkner had...fresh Pokemon. Pokemon who would be willing to battle her.

**Sam - Thursday, 12:04 PM, Violet City Gym**

Sam apparoched her friends again, a huge grin on her face. Blaze was a little hurt, but apart from that he was fine.

Kent smirked. "So did you beat his weakened Pokemon or did you need someone else to beat them up even more?"

"Actually, Kent, Falkner had other Pokemon. He used the other Pokemon in our fight. So you didn't help me at all. I won this badge by myself."

The look on Kent's face was priceless. Sam didn't think that battle was easy - in fact it was sort of hard - but she would go through it a hundred times just to see that stupid dumbfounded expression on Kent's face.

**Max|Thursday, 12:08pm, Outside of Violet City Gym**

I surveyed the gym leader Faulkner and decided he would be a waste of my time. So after Sam one her battle we left.

"You guys are so slow," I said taking the lead.

"This coming from Mr. Yawn a lot," Kent said.

I gave him and the others a backwards look. "You misinterpret my boredom as laziness. To battle several times a day is tedium and time consuming. While I'm battling my third gym leader I could be riding a Lapras across an ocean or flying on a Noctowl. No I choose my opponent very carefully. If I think they'll provide something new then I'll fight them but otherwise I'll pass."

They all gave me dubious looks but I kept on walking. We found a picnic table and cooked up some lunch for us to eat.

All the Pokémon were relaxed and were running about, although Lady stayed close to me hovering over the food and snickering at Tyler. Tylers Gastly also hovered around. I couldn't understand how Tyler was afraid of Lady when he had Gastly. In my opinion that was the scariest of the ghost type Pokémon. I mean its name alone was scary and then it would evolve into Haunter. That name said it all. After that it would involve into Ginger with its creepy smiling.

We ate for the most part in silence save for Sam and Kent competing in whose gym battle was more amazing, a rather mind-numbing play by play account of their actions. I imagine a similar conversation could occur between two Apalm quarreling over who could throw poop the farthest.

I got a call and I looked to see it was my sister. She gloated about obtaining her first ribbon.

"So where are you guys headed," she asked after I filled her in on my exploits.  
I told her and I could hear her laugh. "Well good I'll be there too," she said before hanging up.  
I grimaced.

"Who was that?" Tyler asked.

"My sister," I said.

The thief that we now knew to be Kisa was feeding her Pokémon some milk. "Are we going to meet her," she asked.

"Unfortunately yes," I said.


End file.
